US lauds internet penetration rate among Nigerian youths

US lauds internet penetration rate among Nigerian youths

The United States Department has lauded the rate of internet penetration among Nigerian youths.

Deputy Public Affairs Officer at the US Consulate General, Lagos, Jennifer Foltz, gave the passing remarks during the American Film Showcase and Panel Discussion held in The Vale College, Ibadan on Thursday.

Foltz further said the US government is also committed to supporting and empowering Nigerian youths as the next generation of leaders in the country.

Speaking further, Foltz said the event, which had in attendance students of The Vale College, Jotbath College, Anwar-ul-Islam Grammar School, Ibadan, will engender discussion on youths and online culture.

She said: “Through the American film showcase, the State Department or the US government has a partnership with the University of California School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles, to bring these interesting films around the world through embassies and consulates globally so that we can engage with different audiences.

“Today we have students here and this film is about youths and online culture so that we can have dialogue and talk about the that pertain to all humans.

“At the US Consulate, Lagos, we are committed to supporting and empowering youths as the next generation of leaders in the country and they are inspiring.

“We do a lot of exchange programmes including those that send young people to the US to gain network and skills and then they return here to do incredible things that make positive changes.

“We were at the American Corner, Ibadan, a US-sponsored facility with computers, internet, academic journals, books, databases and it is a great place to do programmes that empower youth.

“So this is part of that also, we’re just coming to a different location, meeting with young people. And I think we’ll have to hear from them what they take from the film, we want to we really want to learn from them, you know, what’s going on in their lives, and maybe what they can do to make positive changes themselves.”

When asked about the assessment of the rate of internet penetration in Nigeria, the US Ambassador Public Affairs Attaché said “I think we can’t stop it. I mean, every young person, and even us older people, we’re online, that’s where we get information from.

“That’s where we connect with people. That’s how we learn. And so I think that while there may be some negative sides or so, there are many positive sides to technology. When when you look at the pandemic itself, we didn’t lose connection with people.

“In fact, through our programmes at the US consulate, we engaged even more people than normal. So when I get in a car and I drive to Ibadan, I can only meet so many people in person, but when we go online, we can double, triple and quadruple the number of people we reach with information and inspiration about our programming. So I think we have to look at the positive sides of technology.”

Also speaking at the event, the Founder and Director of The Vale College, Funso Adegbola, in her welcome address noted that the school will continue to seek more support from the US government and agencies.

“We thank you for choosing to visit our college, I believe the first in Ibadan, to show this film to our students and their colleagues from other schools. We hope that we will be able to do more together. We will be happy to partner and work with your agencies for the growth and development of our youths, our future, and the betterment of both our countries,” she said.

Adegbola also the college will continue to turn out graduates of character and learning, who will use their knowledge for the service and development of their communities, countries and humanity.